Senior Congress leader and former Leader of Opposition Dr Govind Singh’s family has again made headlines after being charged with encroaching on government land and occupying a public road near his ancestral house at Lahar, Bhind. The issue, which has triggered a year-long protest by the Dalit community, took a legal turn when the Gwalior Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed a petition filed by Dr Singh, upholding the revenue department’s demarcation that confirmed the encroachment.
The issue involved land bordering the residence of Dr Singh in Ward No. 12, where residents complained that a public walkway was being illegally occupied by construction related to the Congress leader’s family. The revenue department, after multiple visits and on-ground marking, determined that government land had indeed been encroached upon and the local administration took steps to correct the situation. The High Court, in its latest judgment, held no case in the petition moved by Dr Govind Singh against the revenue proceedings and declared that any further course of action, if at all, would now belong to the civil court.
Dalit Protest Crosses One Year
The matter has been brewing for more than a year now as members of the Dalit community in Lahar have been protesting that the obstructed road historically utilised by them be opened. Protestors claim that encroachment by Govind Singh’s family has hindered entry to their area and temple complex. Despite repeated administrative interventions, the conflict has continued, becoming a hotbed of caste and political tensions in the area.
The authorities, such as SDM Vijay Singh Yadav, Tehsildar Deepak Shukla, and CMO Ramashankar Sharma, have conducted spot inspections and field measurements multiple times, usually while deploying heavy police deployments to avoid confrontations. Every official investigation vindicated the encroachment of public land, giving more strength to the case against the family of the Congress leader.
August Precedent: Lal Singh Palace Encroachment
It is not the first time that the family of Dr Govind Singh has been accused of such a practice. A similar scandal had broken out in August this year when the Lal Singh Palace Marriage Garden owned by Dr Singh’s son, Dr Amit Pratap Singh, was also charged with encroaching on the land of numerous people. A comprehensive revenue survey at the location reportedly verified that a portion of the garden had crossed into public land. The administration had again used a heavy police presence to keep order during proceedings.
The recurrence of such incidents within a brief period of time has subjected the veteran Congress politician to severe public and political pressure, particularly as both conflicts concern government land encroachment in the same locality.
Political Defence and Denial
Reacting to the charges, Dr Amit Pratap Singh labelled them as politically motivated and said that the said properties belong to the family and that they have all the documents required for ownership. He accused the BJP state government of taking recourse to administrative machinery in order to target opposition leaders with an eye on the upcoming local elections.
However, administrative records and the High Court’s decision have weakened the family’s defence. Officials maintained that the demarcation was done transparently, and the findings were consistent with land records. The court’s dismissal of Dr Singh’s petition further validated the revenue department’s assessment.
Legal and Administrative Course Ahead
With the High Court’s decision, the civil court will now deal with any subsequent proceedings, but at present the revenue demarcation is still legally valid. Local authorities are supposed to go ahead and remove the encroachments according to law, although sources say the administration is going slowly because of the political sensitivity of the case.
At the same time, Dalit agitators have promised not to stop their protest until the road is cleared in its entirety and the public space is opened up. Social groups from the area have also begun mobilising support on the grounds that the case represents wider disparities in land rights and administrative deployment.
A Pattern of Controversy
The twin encroachment scandals, one at Lal Singh Palace and the other at Govind Singh’s house, have put the land use practices by influential political clans in small-town Madhya Pradesh in the spotlight. Although Dr Singh is still one of the oldest Congress leaders in the state, his recent legal losses and local demonstrations have punctured his long-established reputation as a pro-poor politician.
The Lahar developments highlight how land disputes can become caste and political flashpoints, particularly when they involve the influential. With public opinion firming up and administrative action in the spotlight, the encroachment issue has now turned into a test of both law enforcement and political accountability for the region.
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